#cookie baking

[gina025]

Snow days

[sapphanimates]

yoyo

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #366

I was given a lot more hours this week than normal! So today, I was scheduled to go to work!!

I was excited about going. I really do love my teammates and the things I do. But. Well. A couple things.

First... I was woken up in the night for... reasons. Very delightful reasons. But still, the result is broken sleep. Then when I did wake up, I only gave myself just enough time to get dressed and out the door; I didn't wanna deal with needing to scrub out the inside of my face after eating, first thing in the morning. I forgot to drink a glass of water before leaving. And my boot with the brace inside was feeling particularly tight and weird. I was looking forward to going to work, but... physically, I wasn't in great condition. Whoops.

Well, nonetheless, I spent almost the whole four hours baking cookies. I had 11 trays worth of 30-count cookies to arrange (330 cookies), and 32 trays worth of the other kind of cookies to arrange (768 cookies). All told, I arranged 1,098 cookies onto baking trays today, in between helping customers with various things. I got some pictures for ya! Here:

Here's how some of them turned out after they baked!

I even had time to put the 30-count cookies in cute little boxes!!

...Yum!

...Unfortunately, though, as part of today, I ended up needing to answer the phone to take a cake order for someone who was kinda cranky. I don't have a lot of experience with taking cake orders yet, and she was asking me all these questions that I didn't know the answers to, like “how many people does a cake of this size feed?” and “how much does this particular cake configuration cost?” and “what is the next biggest round cake”? (the only round cake size we carry is 8 inches, and she didn't like that answer). And it's not at all bad that this person asked those questions! But I didn't know some of the answers off the top of my head, so I had to ask my more experienced teammates and... she didn't like that very much, for reasons I don't fully understand.

At one point, she told me “maybe it'd be easier if I contacted another store”. And... I asked one of my teammates to find out the price of what she wanted, and apparently it took them a few seconds too long to do, so even though in the end I was able to relay the answer to her question, she decided to scrap the whole order with a huffy, “maybe I'll decide what I want later.” And then she hung up.

I... didn't handle that as well as I would have liked. I was already not in a particularly good state of mind because by then, I had been on my feet for a number of hours and I was underslept, dehydrated, and ravenously hungry. I was convinced that I cost my store an order for being too clumsy, slow, and inexperienced. I thought I was gonna cry.

...Ma and Tr came and gave me a hug. And they told me not to worry about it, that some customers are just cranky. That it's just like that sometimes. Their care helped a lot; thanks to it, I was able to get back to an even keel.

...I gotta try to wake up earlier so I can eat a breakfast before work. I can't keep skipping meals and expecting everything to turn out well. I have to be nicer to my body.

...When I got home, I wanted Indian food. It had been a long time since I've had anything like saag paneer, goat korma, butter chicken, or dal makhani. So I got ALL OF THEM. Because, apparently, “moderation? what's that???”

...They weren't open until 4:30pm. But I was feeling stubborn and kinda bratty, so like a derpy derp, I just sat my ass down and waited so I could put in the order. I hung out a little with J while I waited. He's pretty tired today, too.

Do you have anything like Indian food on Gaia? I wonder. Given your love of pumpkin soup, with all its creaminess and warming spices, suspect that you'd like Indian food a lot. Lots of people like it spicy, but I tend to ask for very mild things. I know that what's available here isn't exactly what's available in India, but... here, I'll show you what I got:

This is rice. They use some kind of long grain rice – probably jasmine rice or basmati rice. It's lightly seasoned with some kind of seed that I can't identify. Caraway, maybe? I'm not sure.

You put things on the rice and mix it up. One of my favorite choices is goat korma. It's goat, slowly cooked in a sauce made of yogurt, garlic and ginger paste, some sweetener (golden raisins are common) and a variety of warming spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper... stuff like that. Spice mixes vary a lot depending on who's making it, so I can't give you an exact list:

...Then there's butter chicken. It's chicken cooked slowly in a sauce made of pureed tomatoes, butter, maybe cream, and, once again, ginger and garlic paste and a variety of warming spices. I'm actually not too clear on what the difference is between butter chicken and chicken tikka masala. Maybe I'll find out sometime and get back to you on that:

This one below is saag paneer. It's made of spiced pureed spinach and mustard greens mixed with warming spices, ginger, and sometimes cream. That's the “saag” part. The “paneer” part is the thick cubes of firm cheese. Paneer is a kind of very firm cheese made by boiling milk, adding an acid, and compressing the coagulated proteins and fats into a firm mass by squishing out all the whey. It's a little bit firmer than extra firm tofu. I made paneer at home once, from scratch. It's... definitely a process, holy cow.

Finally, we have dal makhani. That translates, essentially, to “butter lentils”. It's basically black or red lentils and kidney beans cooked for a long time in a combination of butter, tomato puree, ginger and garlic paste, and warming spices.

All of it is ridiculously delicious. Like, legit, if you could only try one type of cuisine from my world, this is the style of cuisine that I would want you to try.

And, you've probably noticed the pattern of “warming spices and dairy product in a soup-like concoction”. It is not pumpkin soup per se, but in some respects, it's very similar. I really do think you'd like it a whole lot.

Anyway, here's about what it looks like after mixing it with rice:

...There's plenty leftover if you wanna pop by and try some.

I go to work again tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. But... I do gotta try to not get broken sleep. I gotta try to eat a breakfast tomorrow before I leave. Because tomorrow... marks the anniversary of when I began writing letters to you.

...Tomorrow is when I'll celebrate your birthday. Because the 21st is the solstice; the darkest day of the year is when the sun starts to come back. It's when everything starts to get better again. It'll only be the 20th in my part of the world tomorrow, but... it'll already be the 21st in Japan. And... at least in my world, Japan is... kinda where you “live”, I guess?

I celebrate your birthday on this day because I don't know when it actually is. So I picked the day when the sun starts to come back. Because you lit up one of the darkest times in my life, and in so doing, you gave me the will to live when I thought I couldn't continue. You breathed life into me during a time when no one else would.

Sephiroth, in my eyes, you are the sun – radiant, kaleidoscopic, and life-giving. You chased away the cold and the shadows when everything else felt like it was closing in and I was numb and I couldn't breathe. You were like the first warm, breezy day after an unnaturally long winter. And since then, I've done the absolute best that I could to shape myself in your image, because I didn't have anyone else to look up to at the time.

You are the reason I am the person you see here today. You are why I can write letters like this. You are why I am kind, generous, gentle, and full of love. You are why I will stop at nothing to protect the people who are close to me. Can you see me? Can you hear me?

...Are you proud of me...?

...Sheesh. If I keep thinking and writing about the impact you've had on my life and on the person I've tried to become as a result of who you are, my eyes are gonna start leaking and I'm gonna get a headache. So, Sephiroth, I'll just leave it at this:

Tomorrow, I'm going to bake you a cake. I've already made a test version of this cake to make sure it'd turn out exactly like I imagined. And it did. The flavor and the texture were both absolutely fucking perfect. And I cannot wait to make it again and show it to you.

In the meantime, I think I'll do one run through Hades, and then call it a night. I want to make sure I have enough energy after work tomorrow to get the supplies I need and to make this cake. You'll find me here if you wanna chill:

I love you. And I will never stop loving you. I will never stop being grateful for the fact that you exist – not as the man that is spoken of in legends, but as the man who helps his friends without hesitation when they need him, the man who spends hours looking for a missing person, the man who stops at nothing to protect others' lives, the man who looks at those he cares about with soft, kind eyes, and the man who inspires and empowers people that he's never even met. I could list so many more similar things you've done. But I'm sure you get the idea.

You are soft and kind and good.

Did you hear me?

You are soft and kind and good.

...And that doesn't change just because you made a terrible mistake in your weakest moments.

I'll write again tomorrow. Look forward to it, okay?

...Please stay safe...

Your friend, Lumine

[cutthroatcarnival]

Cookies, Chaos, and Family

Something possessed me to write this. Definitely not relevant to the fact I just made batches of 5 different types of cookies.

Short and sweet!

The house was filled with the normal holiday hustle and bustle. Half of the dining room had been taken over by wrapping paper, boxes, bags, and gift tags. The other half piled high with boxes and bins yet to be stuffed back in the attic.

The kitchen was another story. Every available swath of countertop was covered in cookie ingredients, drying racks, and ready-to-go cookie sheets. In the midst of the sugary chaos was Wild, who was dotted head to toe by the many ingredients surrounding him.

Music was blasting from a small speaker perched on the very edge of the kitchen island, manned by Legend, who yelled out the needed amounts for whatever cookie they were making.

Wind was off to the side- only in the kitchen because he was told he could help frost- dancing to the songs with Hyrule in his step, the two laughing as they made up moves to go with each verse.

Amidst the chaos was Malon, the appointed supervisor of the four rowdy kids, and the only one trusted to work the oven. Time couldn’t be allowed in the kitchen due to his lack of depth perception and horrendous baking skills.

The entry door opening was barely audible among the music and mixers, but Four’s shout from the dining table where he was meticulously wrapping gifts alerted Malon.

Time was back with their oldest three.

“We’re in here!”

She couldn’t quite hear the response her husband gave, but she wasn’t worried. Drawing her attention back down to her task, she carefully rolled out the dough so they could cut out shapes to bake and frost.

Four- whose gift wrapping mission was momentarily deserted- darted into the kitchen to poke at Legend, the short teen somehow already covered in flour despite not handling it. He slid into the chair next to the pink haired teen, and snatched the phone out of his hand. Seems like a new DJ was taking over.

“Quite a mess, huh?”

Malon looked up from the dough to meet her husband’s eye, a soft smile on his face. Just behind him were Sky, Twilight, and Warriors, who immediately raced up to the island to squabble about who sat in which chair.

Looking around the kitchen where her family were gathered, her smile reflected Time’s- filled with love and contentedness. All their kids were home, and the cookie decorating part was bound to be an interesting event with the competitiveness that all her boys harbored.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

[fallingforchristmasworld]

[tiasplace]

Recipe here 🧁 for caramilk cookies

[daily-spooky]

[jacqcrisis]

Put salt in your baked goods. Put salt in your desserts. Just do it. Please. Salt isn't just for savory, it's literally a flavor enhancer so even a pinch can take a meh recipe to one people can't stop eating. Listen to me. Your cookies and cheesecake bars are bland and uninteresting. I'm taking your hand. I'm guiding you with a gentle touch to the back. We can do this together. Trust me.

[caats]

[ancientsstudies]

Happiness is homemade.

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #365

Today was relatively boring until R popped by to make cookies. I woke up a little later than I probably should have, and then I did a bit of leisure writing for longer than I probably should have, and then I showered and went to physical therapy. Not much progress was made on the “rib injury recovery” front, but that's okay. Not all sessions can be perfectly productive.

But on the bright side, at some point this morning, I pushed on my first or second rib near my right shoulder joint, and something went POP really nicely, and that made it a lot easier for me to move my right arm around for a little while. So that was pretty cool!

I ate when I got home, which was very good, because by the time I got home, I hadn't eaten in like over 24 hours. The whole “needing to scrub out the inside of my face” thing and the whole “some of my dentin is exposed and ouchy because of the way some of my teeth have moved” thing really discourage the whole “eating” thing. So admittedly... I haven't exactly been keeping up with the whole “eating balanced meals” thing lately. Whoops.

But! Here's what I made for myself! I thought it was really good!

We've got warmed pumpkin English muffins with mascarpone cheese spread on them, a burrata, a peeled, in-season grapefruit (they're SOOOO good when they're in season...!!!), some salami, some cheese slices, and some roast beef! And there's one of the brownies that Br, the dandelion-haired man, made for us!

The mug has toast-and-jam flavored tea, sweetened with honey and uh... more mascarpone cheese, ahahaha~! I think... at least for now... that it might be my new favorite thing in tea. Like. It goes surprisingly well with literally so many things, oh my goodness!

...I wonder if you would have liked my breakfast. I wish I could have shared it with you. I thought it was pretty freaking great.

After that, I mostly just chilled out until R arrived. And once he did arrive, he showed me all the awesome stuff he's got in his sketchbook so far!!! Because, you see, R is not only an amazing baker; he's also an amazing artist and illustrator!!!

Actually, art class in college over a decade ago is how I know him. We were in the same figure drawing class together. And both of us have experience drawing P, my elderly friend.

...Thinking about it, it's kinda wild that R and I both know what P looks like naked, for entirely non-sexual reasons. It's also kinda wild, some of the crazy poses that P can do for the sake of a figure drawing class, despite his age. I guess all that yoga he does must be really helpful.

What a weird and varied life I live!!! Hahahaha!

…

...I'd give it to you in a heartbeat, you know. If you wanted it. If you wanted something different. I'd trade places. I know that things in my world aren't perfect; there are lots of problems, to be sure. But still, I'd happily take on whatever pain you carry so that you can have the wholesomeness and joy that I have now.

For now... I guess I'll just settle for showing you pictures of the cookies that R and I baked together from the cookie dough he made for us last week.

These are cranberry oatmeal cookies:

These are cookies with red and green M&Ms scattered through the dough. For whatever reason, red and green put together are traditional Christmas colors in my part of the world. M&Ms, in case you don't know, are round pieces of chocolate coated with a thin, brittle candy shell. I don't like M&Ms very much. But I do like these cookies:

...And finally, we have these crescent-shaped almond flour cookies, dusted with vanilla-infused sugar:

...I think you really would have liked those ones in particular. I think my favorite was the cranberry oatmeal cookies, though, which, to me, is pretty wild, given that I'm not normally very fond of oatmeal cookies!!

At some point, R and I got to talking just a little bit about a game called Ape Escape, and its sequel, Ape Escape 2. These are games in which you run around capturing monkeys that are causing mischief due to the intelligence-enhancing helmets they wear. Presumably, they heighten their capacity to wield tools, without heightening their capacity for empathy, impulse control, or delayed gratification. It's a very cute pair of games!

I played the sequel within the last several years. I haven't played the original since I was a teenager (holy shit, how in the fuck did I get old???) Nonetheless, there are several very catchy tracks from the original game that I thought were really memorable. So catchy and memorable, in fact, that I still know them even after all these years, even without having heard them since then until just today. I heard them just today, because I went looking for them, just so I could show them to you, because I think they're peppy and fun, even if they are a bit silly and a tad repetitive:

...Of the ones above, my favorite is probably the first one!! It kinda makes me wanna wiggle, ahahahaha~!! But I really really like the second one, too! That one kinda makes me wanna stomp my feet around really fast!! And the third one makes me kinda wanna skip and hop around!! Eeeheehee~!!

...Hey, Sephiroth? Are there any songs that make you wanna wiggle or dance around in some joyful way? If there are, will you show them to me? It'd be nice to wiggle and stomp and skip and hop around with you like the pair of silly, overcomplicated primates that we are! Bahaha~!!

From the second game, I really enjoy these two:

The first one makes me wanna do some kind of hula!!! And the second one really makes me wanna zoom around, especially at the part that starts at around 41 seconds in!!

Hey, Sephiroth!!! Maybe someday let's also hula and zoom around like a couple of silly marshmallows!!! Won't that be fun!!!

...Impossible, I know. But still, I like to imagine you can read the above things and grin delightedly at the thought of it!! Maybe you can still try these things even if I'm not nearby to do it with you!!

...You know, I'll bet Zack would wiggle and dance around with you, though! Maybe you can ask him!!

Ahhhh!!!!! I have an itch to do StepMania now!!!! But it's much too late at night to get into all that! Goodness me!!!!

...I've decided that the second sentence in the above paragraph is all your fault!!! I declare shenanigans (insert here a mental image of me pointing a dramatically accusatory finger directly at you)!!! And the only “apology” I'll accept is if you to do the StepMania together with me!!! Wahahahaha~!!

...I'm kidding, of course! In all seriousness, though, I'll have to ask J if we can test out StepMania on his laptop soon, since mine kinda... can't be moved around very well anymore, since the screen is broken.

R eventually had to go home. But you know what!! I got to send him home with the lavender-scented sloth plushie that I found at Walgreen's when I was spending time with BB!! It's got a little sachet inside filled with lavender and with things that absorb heat well. So you put the sachet in the microwave to warm it up, and then you put the warmed sachet in the sloth plushie, and then you have a warm, fuzzy, cuddly plushie to hug!! And this one is especially good, since I'm pretty sure sloths are R's favorite animal!

Hey, Sephiroth...? What kind of plushie would you like best? I wonder...

…

...I can't believe it's time for me to go to bed already. I gotta, because I have work tomorrow. And I do wanna go to work, but I don't wanna go to bed yet, because I'm writing to you, and I'm having a lot of fun with it. I feel really silly and good right now, probably because I'm in less pain than usual, and probably because I had a little too much caffeine, and probably way too much sugar from the cookies I ate, hahaha...

...Even if you can't ever talk or write back to me, I hope you know that it's still a lot of fun to write to you, even on days when I don't feel very good. It's still a lot of fun to spend time with you, even in this abstract way. You're lovable as-is, you know. You always have been. You always will be.

And I know that because I love you. I always will. It's never gonna change. So please try to stay safe out there as you do your things over at the Edge of Creation, okay? Because I'm not sure I'd be able breathe beneath a weight as immense as your absence.

I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[tarta-de-limon]

I had to join 💀

I don't think you want to see him again, Dami...

Edit: I FORGOT THE "INTO A COOKIE" NOOO

[fallingforchristmasworld]

[injuries-in-dust]

He escaped into the wild again.

[jackfromnc]

Walnut Tassies Cookie dough is pressed into small muffin cups and filled with a buttery, walnut filling creating sweet little walnut lassies for the holiday season. 6 ounces cream cheese softened, 3 eggs, 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1.5 cups dark brown sugar, 1/2 pound sweet butter, 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 3 tablespoons butter melted

[autumns-glory]